Corporate-In a class of its own.

by Suketu Shah

Corporate released by Madhur Bhadarkar(of Chandni Bar,Satta,Aan,Page 3 fame) in July 2006 was a movie I was looking forward since quite a while ever since I heard in late 2005 that Bhadarkar was making a movie on the intricacies of the corporate world.And as expected the movie has exceeded my high expectations.

Bipasha plays Nishigandha Dasgupta,a top executive with Singhal Group of Industries(headed by industrialist Rajat Kapoor) who have wide investment in the food business and has recwently tied up with American food giant Friscon.Their main rival is Marwah Group of Industries headed by Marwadi industrialist Raj Babbar.The movie starts with the minister’s announcement that a leading PSU wl be auctioned to the higgest bidder soon.Both the rival companies make a strong effort to win the bid as the PSU

is extremely profitable for making FMCG items and this includes unethical means.Bhandarkar shows the entire process right upto the bidding amazingly well.The scene wherein the minister forges Marwah as the higgest bidder was worrth going miles to see.Marwah having won the PSu announces that he wl manufacture mineral water there but Nishi learns from a leak in Marwah’s office that this is just to mislead competition and they actually wl come out with a mint-based soft drink in 6 months.Nishi steals an important file from Marwah’s CEO and along with Ritesh(Rajat Kapoors brother inlaw) ,with whom she is seriously in love as well,she convinces Rajat Kapoor to come out with a mint based soft drink in 3 months and get the early movers advantage.They come across a serious problem,though.The FDA refuses to give them the license as their soft drink "Just Chill" is heavily contaminated with pesticides.Kapoor decides to have FDA bribed and loses his CEO on ethical grounds.Just Chill is released and is a total success.Marwah is left pondering how Kapoor stole his idea and beat him at his won game and hirers detective Bharat Dhabolkar to turn the tables totally on Kapoor with the help of minister."Just Chill" is banned ,Kapoor faces a legal battle and jail and it is then that Kapoor ,Achint and Ritesh decide to have Nishi take full responsibility for the pesticides disaster on Kapoor’s assurance that she wl be out of jail in 2 months as "they have the best lawyers".Steve of Friscon is extremely agitated and warns the Delhi minster of withdrawing entire investment of his company if Friscon /pesticides issue is not resolved.This means a compromise between Kapoor and Babbar(Marwah) wherein Nishi is made the sacrifising dog.Ritesh is "offically" said to have committed suicide though its clear he was bumped off by Kapoor men after his strong threat to Kappor and his wife Achint.The ending is a clear indication (esp to fresh MBA’s) that all that glitters is not gold.

The film is so damn reaslitic that it leaves a great impression on those who are dealing at this level in Mumbai. There is a very important message out by Rajat Kapoor duing one of the stormy meetings with his team wherein he says "Profit is everything".I am one of those who feel that although profit is important it is customer satisfaction which is paramount and supercedes profit as the ultimate objective as with customer satisfaction,profit is only a formaility.It is a pity most people think otherwise.Another great scene is when Marwah’s right hand man after being sacked confronts Nishi at the parking lot wherein she tells him that the problem with him is that he thinks with his penis and not his brain and what hurts him most is not that hes lost his job but thats he missed a trick and lost it to a female.Payal Rohatgi’s scene with the minster is extremely realistic and interesting as well.The award function scene is also a classic one. Nishi has a scene wherin she meets Rajat Kapoor and states that getting the FDA license by bribing wherein the mint flavoured drink was contaminated with pesticides is "unethical".I thought this was a scene on the fault line as Nishi herself stole a major file from right under the nose from Marwah’s right hand man in a mose unethical manner as can be.

The icing on the cake for my in this movie was that Achint Kaur was featured in this movie as Rajat Kapoor’s wife.As you know(and for those who donot) she is easily one of the most good looking women on the planet earth ever!Add to that she’s a tough cookie,having come up in the last 8-9 years after a divorce and having a young kid.I have always been a big big fan of her and have been following her interviews etc for a while where she comes across as a tough,determined and courageous individual.Very few things in movies/serials please me as much as watching her on screen.She is such a talent on screen and such a stunning beauty that its mindboggling.Way to go Achint,look forward to more of you.

Bipasha’s acting is a letdown esp in the scenes where she emotes disappointment/frustration.Sushmita would have been the perfect "Nishigandha Dasgupta".Raj Babbar and Rajat Kapoor are excellent as is the character who plays the minister.Kay Kay Menon ,I though,came across as rather a little too unrefined as a corporate executive.Minissha Lamba as the young MBA aspiring to be the next "Nishigandha" has a nice small role esp her introduction scene with "Nishi" and Samir Dattani.Madhur missed a trick by not showing her feelings towards the end of the film where the world of her idol "Nishi" totally collapses.(Wonder what Minissha’s character would be going thru then).Steve,the American,who is the representative of Friscon in India fits his role perfectly.The gossip among peons is also quite realstically portrayed.

Corporate really is a masterpiece in a league of its own.I wl be among the first to buy the original VCD of this movie whenever it comes out in the future.One really wonders why noone though of a movie of this genre all these years.The 140 minutes I spent watching this flick went off so quickly I hardly ever noticed.I would have to say this is almost certainly the best movie I have ever seen.Thank you Mr Bhandarkar for making my day.Looking forward to more classics from you in the future esp about the business world.